Judy Rookstool   

After a fulfilling career mentoring and guiding  students with choices for life and career directions, I now paint to exhort others, as well as myself, to embrace their own spirit and become their true self: as independent, worthwhile,  assertive, self-reliant beings who cannot be ignored. 

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I am driven to translate these emotions in a manner that elicits thoughtful introspection.   I push my boundaries in a conversation with paint, to unfold feelings, using simple concepts and complex emotions in the form of disrupted realism.  My works are meant to encourage the viewer to see beyond their personal realm and to engender empathy for others, particularly womankind, reducing the effects of otherness. 

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Since I have always been passionate about women’s issues, many of my works contain references to their hidden or rising strength, power and potency.  It is in my heart to explore multiple aspects of what it means to be female, celebrating their strength, their feelings, and illuminating their private struggles.  My figures embody emotions and attitudes that feel both very personal but also characterize many women/people.  With the tilt of a head, the position of a body, the direction of a gaze – these imaginary women become real, become Everywoman.

 

My layering of textures, joyful colors and moody chromas render a history of unexpected elements coming to the surface and are influenced by my garden outside my window where there is an abundance of texture and vibrancy in a small space. As a native Californian, gardening is vital to my soul and is my wellspring of creativity which spills into my paintings.